


Secret Santa

by startrekkingaroundasgard



Series: 25 days of ficmas [24]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, Kissing, Lace Panties, Mutual Pining, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 01:16:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17254886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekkingaroundasgard/pseuds/startrekkingaroundasgard
Summary: Sick of seeing his best friends pine for one another, Steve rigs the secret santa in the hope that it gives Natasha and the reader the final push to admit their feelings.





	Secret Santa

“Steve, help me.”

The Captain was on his feet immediately, the book he’d been reading hitting the floor with a thud. reaching beneath his bed to grab his trusty shield, on feet in an instant. He must have looked quite the sight in his sweatpants and no shirt, covered in grime from the morning training he had yet to wash off. His muscles tensed so tightly that it almost hurt, Steve prepared himself for the worst. “What is it?”

“I’ve got Nat for secret santa.”

“Is that it? I thought it was the end of the world or something.”

Steve had to turn away to hide the small smile that was playing on his lips. He knew exactly how important this was to you; in fact, he was the reason you had even gotten Natasha in the secret santa in the first place. Over the last year, especially so in the past few weeks, it had become painfully clear to him that you had feelings for the spy and that she reciprocated your feelings.

Everyone on the team seemed to know, except you and Natasha yourselves. All those lingering touches. The far too frequent straddling one another during training sessions. Longing stares across the briefing room. It was pathetic, really, how two such dangerous people turned to mush around each other without even realising that was what was happening.

It soon also became obvious to everyone that neither of you were willing to make the first move from the “platonic” relationship you had towards what you really wanted, so Steve had decided to take things into his own hands. You were his best friends in the world and it was his festive mission to get you two together before you drove yourselves to misery over your not-so-secret feelings.

The plan was simple, really. Every year, the Tower held a secret santa. Not just for the Avengers but for all of the employees in Stark Industries too. The names were totally random, allocated by JARVIS so there was no chance of cheating. Although, this year that wasn’t entirely true. It had taken hours to reason with the AI - which had been formed predominantly of Steve staring at the ceiling in his room, begging and pleading with JARVIS in the hope that he shared the same romantic tendencies as his creator - before the AI finally gave in.

Steve had hoped that in giving each other a present you would be able to use it as an opportunity to finally admit your feelings to one another but, you were pretty frantic right now - hardly conducive to romantic declarations. Patting the mattress as he sat down, Steve tried his best to project an air of calm and asked, “Well, what are you thinking of giving her?”

“I don’t know! That’s why I’m here!”

“And there I was thinking you came to see me because you enjoyed my company.”

Guilt jolted you out of your mania for a few seconds, your features softening as you crossed the room to take a seat by his side. You reached out and took his hands in yours, your fingers rough from training outside in the cold for so long. “Oh, Steve. You know that I love your company.”

“I know you do, doll. I was only teasing. Why don’t you just take her shopping and see what she likes?”

“Nat doesn’t like anything!”

“That’s a lie. She likes her guns. And that fancy lingerie that all the models wear.”

The look of abject shock and horror on your face was worth putting up with all of this. Never had Steve seen you so scandalised. Your jaw dropped and your cheeks began to glow as all manner of inappropriate fantasies flooded your mind. You managed to stutter out a few words before your brain visibly shut down.

A few seconds later, when the mental reboot finished, you threw your hands in the air and jumped off the bed, pacing back and forth in front of the Captain. “I can’t buy her lingerie, Steve!”

“Why not?” he asked, swinging his legs up onto the bed and stretching out, his back against the headboard. This was going to take a while so he decided to make himself comfortable. “Clint did last year.”

“They’ve been friends for years!”

“And? So have you two. I’m sure Nat would love some more fancy panties.”

“I can’t believe I’m talking underwear with Captain America… Look. I can’t give her lingerie because that has the implication that I want to see her in it.”

“Well, you do, don’t you? Or would you rather see her out of it?”

You came to such a sudden stop that Steve genuinely thought he’d broken you for a moment. Turning on your heels to face him, you wrung your hands together, playing with the rings on your fingers in the same way you did whenever you were nervous. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Oh, come on. You are not subtle at all. Everyone on the team knows that you have feelings for her. Even Martha in accounting knows.”

You buried your head in your hands and Steve suddenly felt terrible for making you feel so embarrassed. That hadn’t been his intention at all. He had just wanted you to admit to yourself what you were feeling for Natasha was more than friendship but instead he might have ruined everything.

Pushing himself up from the bed, he gripped your forearms and gently shook you out of whatever thoughts were spiralling in your mind. He crouched down so that your eyes were level and said sincerely, “Doll, it isn’t as terrible as you think. You just need to give her something; it doesn’t matter what so long as it comes from the heart.”

“You sound like a holiday special.”

“Well, they always end happily, don’t they? Yours will too. It will all be fine. Nat will love whatever you give her because it came from you and then she’ll sweep you off your feet and make sweet, passionate love to you until New Years.”

“You had to go and make it weird,” you groaned, although you couldn’t hide the smile on your lips. “Thanks, Steve.”

Just as Steve had gotten comfy after you’d left, the door to his room burst open once again and Natasha burst in. Even though it was barely 10am, she had a bottle of vodka - Russian, of course - in her hand and two shot glasses. Handing Steve one, she lay down on the bed beside him and downed a double before pouring herself another. “Rogers, I need your help. I got Y/N for secret santa and I’ve no idea what to get her.”

Even though it would have no effect on him, Steve downed his own shot and held the glass out for another refill. He let out a deep sigh and shook his head in despair at the fact that his two best friends in the world truly were idiots.

***

You went back and forth over buying Natasha lingerie like Steve had suggested. The problem was, every time you thought about it you’d get distracted. You were driving yourself crazy with the mental images of Nat in some skimpy lace, splayed out on the bed, cheeks red with the heat of passion…

More than once, you’d had to excuse yourself from meetings, unable to look Natasha in the eye or even be in the same room as her without getting hot and bothered. It was getting ridiculous. You’d been so busy staring at Natasha’s ass as she sparred with Sam, your mind once again drifting to the black, lacy set you’d bought and hidden in the back of your cupboard, that Clint - who you could usually take down blindfolded - managed to catch you in a sneak attack.

That was hardly the most embarrassing thing, though. Yesterday, Tony had asked you whether your shower was broken as JARVIS’s subsystems had shown that it was constantly running cold. Unable to come up with a believable lie, you’d agreed for him to send a plumber in and the poor man had not been impressed to find that there was, naturally, nothing wrong with your shower.

You were gonna kill Steve for putting these thoughts in your head. That was a problem for another time, though, because today was the day of secret santa. Today was the day you were going to announce your feelings - as if it were actually that easy - and pray that Steve was right. That perhaps Natasha cared as deeply for you as you did her.

All morning, you’d been wearing the carpet thin as you paced around your room because what if Natasha didn’t love you too? What if your poorly planned confession ruined your friendship and she never wanted anything to do with you again? If she never wanted to see you again, how were you supposed to go about your life in the Tower with her always nearby, a constant remind of what could never be yours?

But then what if she actually returned your affections? Would you be able to balance a relationship with all the other shit that made up your life? You’d almost certainly be banned from missions with her; after all, if it came down to protecting a SHIELD asset or saving Natasha, you knew your hesitation would get everyone killed. If you let yourself feel these emotions and then she got injured, or worse died, then you would never be able to cope with your grief.

You were stuck between a rock and a hard place: conceal your feelings and be miserable for what you couldn’t have or admit the truth and face a terrible end either way.

A gentle reminder from the Tower’s AI pulled you from your spiral to inform you that the rest of the team were gathering in the common room to do the present exchange. You thanked JARVIS and, after a few long breaths, gathered yourself and held your head high as you strode towards Hell.

Curling up in your spot on the sofa, you smiled at the team as they arrived and placed their presents (wrapped with varying degrees of success) on the table with yours. Natasha was the last to arrive, red hair still dripping from the shower. Her eyes skimmed the room for a seat and your stomach flipped when her gaze fell on you. A smile played on the corner of her lips as she sat beside you, her attention drawn to the ridiculous Christmas jumper you were wearing.

Opposite you, Clint grumbled that it wasn’t fair he had to sit on the floor when everyone else got a comfy chair so Natasha shuffled over to make room for him on your sofa. However, that meant the previous gap between you was now almost non-existent. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better worse, she rested her hand on your thigh and started tracing random patterns. Her fingers etched slowly higher until you could barely breathe from anticipation.

It was, of course, at that moment that Tony announced it was time for presents. You were wound so tight that you could barely move and, noticing your state with what you could only describe as a knowingly evil smirk, Natasha grabbed your gift and handed it to you. “Merry Christmas, Y/N.”

“Thanks,” you breathed, fighting in vain to ignore the sparks you felt as her fingers brushed yours.

“If you two are quite done staring dreamily into each other’s eyes,” Tony said, tearing your attention away from Natasha. You knew he meant nothing vicious by it - at Christmas time, Tony tried to get everyone on the team together and ensuring no one was lonely in the name of Christmas spirit - but still felt your cheeks warm when he winked and wiggled his eyebrows in your direction. “Who wants to go first?”

The team worked their way around the circle until it was Natasha’s go. She carefully unwrapped the paper, taking her time to pull the tape away and gently unfold the paper rather than tearing it like an excited three year old (like Clint had). Her expression was perfectly neutral as she stared down at the selection of beautifully wrapped, festive scented soaps, hand decorated cookies and novelty socks. She met your gaze, not even needing to recognise the handwriting on the tag as yours to know who these were from, and pulled you into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry if the presents suck. I didn’t know what to get you so I made you a few things,” you whispered, closing your eyes and embracing her just as tightly. Fresh from the shower, her hair smelled of strawberries and her skin was cotton soft against yours. “And I got the traditional socks, of course.”

“I love them, Y/N. Thank you.” Natasha replied, burying her face against your neck. She held you for a long pulled away and cupped your face, brushing her lips gently over yours. All your earlier worries vanished and you knew however things turned out that you were simply grateful for the gorgeous woman in front of you now.

Her fingers on your skin remained gentle but her eyes darkened as she said, “I hope you like your present, too.”

“You’re my secret santa?”

Natasha nodded. Sparing a fleeting glare over towards where Steve and the other Avengers were pretending not to be watching the pair of you like this was the greatest Christmas romance film they had ever seen, she said, “It’s funny how that happens when you’ve got friends who can’t mind their own business.”

“I did nothing of the sort,” Steve objected, more to Tony - whose face was growing red at the thought of someone tampering with his AI - than you and Natasha.

You rolled your eyes at your friend before tearing at the wrapping of your present, your breath catching when you caught sight of what was hiding beneath. Not having to try hard to appear scandalised, you held up the beautiful red lingerie for a better look. “Natasha! I don’t know what to say. If you expect to see me in these…”

“Well, actually, I’d rather see you out of them.”

The words had barely left her mouth when you crashed your lips against hers and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Her hands immediately slipped beneath your jumper, cold against your warm skin and sending shivers down your spine.

Natasha dug her fingers into your waist and pulled you into her lap. She moaned as you tugged on her bottom lip, an outright filthy sound which went straight to your core. In the blink of an eye, she scooped you into her arms and carried you to her room, ignoring the celebratory howls from the rest of the team.


End file.
